Breton language

Breton
Brezhonegcode: bre promoted to code: br
Native to	France
Region	Brittany
Native speakers	206,000 (2007)[1]
Language family	Indo-European Celtic Insular Celtic Brythonic Breton
Writing system	Latin script
Language codes
ISO 639-1	br
ISO 639-2	bre
ISO 639-3	Variously: bre – Modern Breton xbm – Middle Breton obt – Old Breton
Linguist List	xbm Middle Breton
	obt Old Breton
ELP	Breton
Linguasphere	50-ABB-b (varieties: 50-ABB-ba to -be)

For the people, see Breton (people).

Road sign in two languages (in Kemper/Quimper)

Breton (Brezhoneg, in Breton) is a Celtic language spoken in Brittany, in the north-west of France. Breton is closely related to the Cornish language of Cornwall spoken in south-west Great Britain. It is less closely related to Welsh and even less to the Goidelic languages of Scotland, Ireland and the Isle of Man. Breton has about 240,000 speakers,^[2]111 but that number is falling very quickly because the government of France has a policy of using French. As such, Breton is considered to be an endangered language.

Example

Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Breton: Dieub ha par en o dellezegezh hag o gwirioù eo ganet an holl dud. Poell ha skiant zo dezho ha dleout a reont bevañ an eil gant egile en ur spered a genvreudeuriezh.[3]

English: All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.[4]

References

1. Fañch Broudic, 2009. Parler breton au XXIe siècle – Le nouveau sondage de TMO-Régions. (including data from 2007: 172,000 speakers in Lower Brittany; slightly under 200,000 in whole Brittany; 206,000 including students in bilingual education)
2. O'Reilly, Camille (2001). Language, Ethnicity and the State: Minority languages in the European Union, Volume 1. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 033392925X. Retrieved 31 March 2011.
3. "Universal Declaration of Human Rights". Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.
4. "Universal Declaration of Human Rights". United Nations.